Looking for a care home?

Here is a list of frequently asked questions to help people looking for a care home at this current time.

We keep up to date with Government guidance and making sure our residents and staff are safe is our top priority.
 

1. Are Sussex Housing & Care’s care homes accepting new residents?

Yes, we are welcoming new residents to our care homes. Please get in touch to register your interest. 

2. Can I have a tour of the care home?

Inside our buildings are currently closed to all non-essential visitors. Health professionals, nominated chiropodists and hairdressers and a nominated relative or friend, are currently permitted inside the building.

We are able to give a virtual tour of our care home, walking through the home using a video call to show you the communal spaces and available bedrooms. We also offer a video call with our care home manager so you can ask any questions you may have.

3. Are family and friends able to visit residents?

We welcome friends and family to visit loved ones in dedicated visitor's spaces, which are safe for both visitors and residents and follow social distancing guidance or inside the home with the visitor using PPE. All visits need to be pre-booked with the care home, at present they can last up to 45 minutes. Visits are subject to local Public Health England guidance. For more information about our visiting areas please click here.

4. Will the person moving into the care home be tested for covid-19?

Yes. Ideally the new resident would have been tested and received a negative result before moving in. The new resident will be tested on the morning of their arrival to the care home, and we will ask them to confirm they do not show any symptoms of Covid-19.

5. Will the person moving into the care home have to isolate upon arrival?

Yes. Every new resident to our care home will have to isolate for 14 days once they arrive. They will need to remain in their personal bedroom with ensuite facilities. Please see question 6 below for more information about the first 14 days.

6. What service will the new resident receive during social isolation?

The new resident will receive our full care service. They will have all their meals and refreshments in their room and personalised care 24 hours a day from our dedicated care team. Their laundry will be taken care of and they will benefit from one to one activities with our care assitants or activity co-ordinators. It's a great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy a varitey of activities together.  

7. How is Sussex Housing & Care keeping residents and staff safe?

Our care team wear PPE recommended by the Government. This includes a face mask at all times, and a disposable apron and gloves whilst they deliver personal care or food and refreshments. We also have face visors available. Our team are trained in infection control and to be observant of any changes in the resident’s well-being. All residents have their temperature checked twice a day and we conduct a Covid-19 test for all staff and residents every month.

We have substantial quantities of PPE which is regularly monitored by our PPE champion.

8. How are residents being mentally and physically stimulated?

Our dedicated in-house activity co-ordinators continue to deliver our sunny moments club programme. Every day there are activities in the morning and afternoon. These are tailored to our residents’ likes and interests and can range from for example; scrabble and quizzes to gentle exercise and arts and crafts and gardening. See below for more information about our sunny moments club.

We continue to welcome external entertainers to our care homes who perform at a safe distance on the patio or in the garden or even virtually through the internet. Residents enjoy dancers, singers and musicians – just to name a few.

All four care homes have beautiful gardens and outside space which residents continue to regularly explore. From an ice cream on the sunny patio to a gentle stroll to admire Mother Nature, our residents really do benefit from the fresh air and scenery.

9. Can residents receive post and gifts?

Yes. We welcome friends and family to continue to send post, donations and gifts to residents in our care homes. Some of our residents have recently celebrated birthdays and have enjoyed receiving gifts in line with the Government guidance (gifts that can be sanitised). Click here for Government guidance. 

10. How can residents keep in touch with loved ones outside of the care home?

We understand how important it is for residents to keep in touch with friends and family. In addition to being able to visit safely (see question 3), we are making good use of technology. For example, we have a mobile phone and tablets in each care home for residents to use to chat or video call, and we support residents who are unable to independently use these devices.

We have a private family and friend’s Facebook group for each care home. Here we post photos and videos of daily activities and share updates. Feedback from families about these groups has been very positive and they have enjoyed seeing what residents get up to.

11. How do you monitor who accesses the building?

We have a door entry system at all of our care homes, this means that staff speak to anyone before they enter the building. Visitors should always sign in and residents have an in/out board to use. The doors are opened using a door release code and the nurse call system will alert staff when any other external door has been opened. We encourage our residents to live independently and have access to our lovely gardens, however, we monitor this access to make sure it is appriopriate.

12. How do you safeguard residents?

All of our employees complete a safeguarding training course to make sure our residents, who can be vunerable, are treated with respect and not abused or neglected. We are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and work closely with our local partners. All of our care home employees have manditory training and a DBS check when they start employment with us.

13. What health and safety checks do you complete?

We carry out regular health and safety checks in our care homes to make sure our property is safe, risks are reduced and our equipment is in good working order. 

Fire safety checks include for example:

• Weekly fire alarm testing.
• Monthly checks of; fire extingushers, fire doors, electrical items and cleaning smoke detectors and completing a fire drill.
• Quarterly fire risk assessments and fire risk audits are carried out.
• Every year we have our electircal equipment PAT tested.

Health and safety checks include for example:

• Visual inspections.
• Hoist and sling inspections.
• Hot water temperature testing.
• Internal and external environmental checks.
• Condition of garden furniture assessments.
• Legionella tests.
• Emergency lighting and nurse call system.
• Checking first aid boxes, window restrictors and wheelchairs.

Our values are central to what we do, how we treat each other and how we provide services to our residents.

• We put residents at the heart of everything we do - we strive to deliver the best value service to make a positive difference to our residents.
• We all take responsibility - we care about what we do and the impact we have.
• Everyone matters - we treat everyone with fairness, dignity, kindness and respect.
• Together we make a difference - we are one team.

 

We are a not for profit housing association. This means we make a surplus each year which we reinvest back into the organisation in order to continiously improve our properties and the quality of life of our residents. We strive to create brighter living every day.